Congratulations to these little guys! It’s Squirrel Baby Season

Last Updated: June 2016

Brown little furry, bushy tailed mammal. Faced paced, and great climbers, squirrels have been a common resident to all over the GTA for many years and this season, is squirrel baby season! Congratulations to the expectant mothers out there who are about to be giving birth to a litter of adorable baby squirrels. From time to time, squirrels find their way into homes and business places and they use these spaces for a place to live, sleep and take care of their young. While the idea of baby squirrels seems sweet, having a family of squirrels living in your attic or garage isn’t as pleasant as it seems. Hearing both the mother and the babies crawling around upstairs, making messes, leaving droppings and potentially damaging the property will soon be a problem. This is why, during this baby squirrel season that you keep an ear out and an eyes peeled for evidence of squirrels in your home.

About Squirrels

Squirrels are part of the family of mammals called Sciuridae which also include chipmunks, prairie dogs, woodchucks and more! There are over 265 different species of squirrels worldwide. The species that reside the most in Ontario is called the Eastern Grey Squirrel. They have small bodies with a bushy tail and large eyes. They are great climbers with a unique ability to climb down trees head first.  Squirrels usually live in wood areas in trees with hollowed out spaces, but in some cases, they find shelter in a house attic or in the walls. Squirrels feed on nuts, seeds, fungi and more and sometimes exhibit behavior where they store or hide food in different locations for later use.

Interesting Facts about Squirrels

  • Sometimes squirrels pretend to bury their food to trick thieves from taking it
  • Squirrels can find their food even if its buried in the snow
  • Squirrel don’t hibernate
  • Squirrels will eat more during the winter to keep themselves warm

Now that it is quickly approaching squirrel baby season, as previously mentioned, it is important to be aware of the possibility of hosting a family of squirrels in your home! Female squirrel reach sexual maturity at around 1 year and 1-2 years in male squirrels. Squirrel baby season occurs 1-2 times a year, giving birth to a litter of kits after a gestation period of 33-46 weeks. Baby squirrels are born as small as 1 inch. They are born toothless, with no fur, blind and dependent on only their mother for the first two to three months of their life and weaned off. The times vary depending on environmental factors but squirrels generally give birth as early as March. The litter consists of about 2-8 offspring but with a low chance of survival the first year.  Once they reach adulthood, their life span ranges about 5-10 years.

Baby Squirrel Removal

In the event where you find yourself faced with a family of squirrels on your property (squirrel baby season or not), call for a professional to help you remove it. Trying to manage the situation yourself puts the babies, the mother and yourself at risk of injury. Baby squirrels, like all babies are very fragile and extremely dependent on their mother. In some cases, people only remove the adult squirrel, leaving the babies alone with no support. Professional wildlife removal companies evaluate the entire situation before taking any action. When a company like SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated conducts baby squirrel removal, the technicians take precautions that minimize the chance of injury. This is why calling for a professional is the best solution for baby squirrel removal. Avoid using ‘DIY’ methods and contact a licensed wildlife removal company like SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated who can take care of it humanely, effectively and professionally. If you do find an injured squirrel, call for a rehabilitation center like Procyon Wildlife or Toronto Wildlife Center for instructions on what to do.

If you notice signs of wildlife in your house give us a call. At SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated, we provide superior squirrel baby season services for residential, commercial, and industrial clients. Let us help you solve your wildlife problems. Taking action before it’s too late will help eliminate animal damage repair costs. We can easily be reached at 1-800-981-0330. Don’t wait and call us to schedule an appointment for a thorough inspection to help evacuate all your unwanted wildlife guests in the most humane way possible.

Call SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated at 1.800.981.0330 !

 

 

Baby Squirrel Removal

Last Updated: May 2021

Two species of squirrels found in Ontario are the grey squirrel and the red squirrel. The grey squirrel and the red squirrel produce babies twice annually. Most squirrel litters are born in February or March, and July or August. A litter comprises of one to eight babies but five or six are most common.  The baby squirrels are naked, blind and deaf. The mother feeds them every two to four hours for several weeks. At 7-8 weeks, they start to follow their mother around within the den site. If the den is inside your attic this is when you will hear noise if you haven’t already noticed the cries.

Noise in your attic is usually caused by an unexpected guest, often a squirrel. Squirrels are one of the most common wildlife pests to be in your attic. One common complaint is the hearing of “scratching” noises, which usually ends up being a mother squirrel in the attic. The young squirrels begin to eat solid food and are weaned at 10-11 weeks of age. A month later, they start to leave the den. If there are not too many squirrels in the area, the young will build nests nearby. Otherwise, they will be chased away to less crowded feeding areas. Typically some of the squirrels will continue to use the birthing den, thus it is important to have baby squirrel removal conducted as they will keep returning to your attic.

Professional Baby Squirrel Removal

SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated will arrive at your home, inspect the area and provide you with a thorough outline of what the problem is, the main entry points and the squirrel removal options you have. The next step (upon hire) is an attic inspection. This is a hands on approach and allows us to invade the animals space. We can identify if there are babies involved or if it’s only adults. During the search of the attic, the technician must be aware that the mother squirrel may be lurking in the dark. It is her instinctive nature to protect her young and may be provoked when they approached. The mother squirrel needs to be chased out of the attic through the one-way door or kept at bay in order to get to the babies. The standard humane method for baby squirrel removal is by sealing all the entry points except one, and installing a one-way door at the main entry hole. This ensures the mother squirrel leaves and cannot re-enter. This method keeps squirrels from being locked inside a building and it greatly reduces the possibility of property damage. The technician will then be able to seek out the babies and remove them from the property. Once the technician have the babies, they are placed in an insulated heated box close to the one-way door installed. When the mother feels that it is safe, she will come back and relocate the babies one by one to the pre-established den.

Do-it-yourself Baby Squirrel Removal

Baby Season is the time squirrels and other wildlife start to have their babies. It is important during baby season if you hear or see any signs of wildlife in your home to check straight away for babies. Precautions must be taken with conducting baby squirrel removal, as it involves dependents which becomes more complicated. Never conduct baby squirrel removal on your own, contact an experienced technician. Ontario has strong animal welfare legislation, enforcing strong laws and tough penalties. Throughout the  GTA, Richmond Hill, Markham, Scarborough etc. it is an offence to cause or permit distress to an animal.

“Their goal is to ensure Ontario’s animals are protected and treated in the humane manner that our society expects”.

                                                                                           Ministry of Natural Resources, 2015.

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) recommends hiring a licensed professional like SOS Wildlife Control Incorporated to trap them and remove the animal especially during baby season. The MNR have issued licenses to professionals like ourselves with certain protocols must be followed. Please do not try and remove the babies yourself.

First thing you do is locate where the noises are coming from. Second thing you need to check, is if there are babies. Babies are usually noisy, you can hear them chirping, as they cry for their mother to be fed. The mother will be in and out of the nest to get food and water, so you may not hear the thuds of their paws at certain times of the morning and daylight hours.

Tips to help Identify Wildlife

  • Squirrels jump around a lot – day and night! Squirrels like to hide their food, but they have a very short memory, so they scurry around looking for the food they hid. They are very noisy.
  • Raccoons are larger than squirrels and you will hear sliding while it moves around slowly or fixes up its Raccoons are a lot louder than squirrels.
  • Mice are harder to hear, small mice don’t make too many loud noises and the evidence they are there is when they walk out in the open of your home. However larger mice, who feel they are safe may get loud and you will probably need the assistance of experts.
  • Birds in your attic you may occasionally hear scurrying or if there is babies you will hear chirping.

Within a couple weeks, the babies will start to move around and squeak and thump.  By about 4 weeks of age, they begin to explore the attic – especially when the mother is not there. The mother comes and goes from the attic during the day and the babies spend a lot of time running around at night!

Mothers are very protective of their young and do not let any animal near them. As mother wildlife are very protective, they can be quite vicious. If you find the babies watch out for the mother as she may be lurking not too far.

If you have any over laying branches onto your roof you should cut these away, reducing access to you roof. Any loss shingles or broken timber should be fixed as raccoons/squirrels etc. can gnaw and claw at weak areas very quickly. We offer wildlife removal and prevention. Please call us for more information and free advice on your wildlife problems.

Call SOS Wildlife for Baby Squirrel Removal at 647-994-9453

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